No Heros

Settlements.

Places where all the ponies and other creatures seek to discover the meaning of their lives. You see when there's a wall between them and the real world it's easy to pretend that the so-called monsters aren't real.

I smile.

Walking among the busy streets of this place I can't help but look around and see ponies who thought themselves safe and secure. You can see it in the way they walk, talk, and even laugh. These are ponies who were foolishly brought into the false promise of a second chance at a new beginning. Becoming the very foundation that might one day leave an everlasting impact out in the world beyond.

Oh, I fought the urge to gag.

Their little soon-to-be mayor is proof that just because you built something for yourself doesn't mean it can't be molded into something unrecognizable.

While I don't know his plans for the future I don't need to. The look of hunger in his eyes told me all I needed to know.

Soon this place is going to tear itself apart.

Perhaps through greed, civil war, or maybe unforeseen natural Forces. Either way, it will die and those that are left will realize the mistake they made by trying to recreate something that time deemed at an end.

Looking over I see ponies trying to sell products. From the way they looked, it was obvious that they were relatively new to the area. Their eyes alone told me that they had seen and committed their fair share of death and chaos. Tried-looking souls that yawned for a place to rest and live out the rest of their days in silent peace.

Peace.

That word makes me sick.

If peace was truly achievable then I alone including my sister should not be able to exist, and yet we walk among the dead and the dying constantly spinning the wheel of violence until we are no longer to spin said wheel, but by then I already had my fun.

I turn back around making my way back to the others having already a good layout of this place. From what I can tell it was indeed large with a lot of armed ponies whose job was to keep the peace. Fortunately for us, I saw a few good areas that we could use to achieve our objective. The only thing now is to prepare and strike when the town was vulnerable which should be soon since he had deputies on his payroll.

Ah, ain't nothing better but an easy job with a whole lot of bodies and opportunities for harvesting future slaves.

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Second Chance was nervous.

From what she was told by the others her first serious job was today and she had to make sure she did it right.

"It's easy just point and shoot em"

Despite her friend's words, Second couldn't help but feel as if the world itself was closing in on her.

So many feelings, thoughts, and emotions made it difficult for her to even let out a coherent thought.

Kill.

She was going to kill ponies.

She was going to load the gun, point it at their heads and pull the trigger.

When realization dawned on her the young filly threw up.

Twice.

Now several hours later she stands beside her filly friend. A look of paralyzing fear on her face.

Killer.

She was about to be a killer,

And the worse part?

She has to do it with a smile on her face.

Why she doesn't know, but Martyr approached her and told her that if she doesn't consequences will happen.

What those are she rather not know.

Especially since she saw the look on Grime's face.

A look of a pony who had first-hoof experience.

Even with this said knowledge she refused to say a word leaving Second to simply nod her head numbly.

Fast forward to the present day and she now has a weapon of death and destruction strapped across her back.

Killer.

She has to be a killer.

The thought continued to echo inside her skull. She couldn't shake it. Not when she looks around herself and sees the others looking at her with excited smiles and encouraging gestures.

She should run.

She has to run.

She has to turn away and never look back.

She should.

She should,

But she doesn't.

Instead, she wipes away her tears and looks up at each one. Giving each one of them a smile in return full of fake kindness and appreciation.

She has to.

She has to.

Why?

The answer was simple.

She was afraid.

Afraid to lose everything,

And that fear birthed a new kind of desperation. One that has the potential to drown the user.